A 25-year-old Santa Ana man suspected of hitting a woman with an SUV and dragging her approximately 40 yards was charged Thursday with attempted murder.

Arturo Sanchez is facing five felonies – including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, hit and run with injury and second-degree burglary – connected to a traffic collision in the 2500 block of South Yale Street on Monday.

About a week prior to the collision, Sanchez is suspected of stealing a purse from an employee of a family-run business in the neighborhood, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said. Around 11:15 a.m. Monday, employees of the business spotted Sanchez in the same area, and believed they recognized him as the man who grabbed the purse, Bertagna said.

The woman whose purse had been stolen tried to use her own vehicle to block Sanchez from driving out of the area, Bertagna said, but he drove around her. The woman’s sister tried to stop Sanchez by standing in front of his vehicle, but police say he struck her, dragged her about 40 yards, then reversed the vehicle in order to dislodge her.

Surveillance video released by police shows the woman standing in the roadway as the SUV approaches, moving slightly to her right to get in front of the oncoming vehicle, being hit by the front of the vehicle and being pushed up nearly to the hood before falling back down below the SUV.

The woman suffered multiple abrasions, Bertagna said, and remained hospitalized Thursday. She is expected to need skin grafts.

According to court records, Sanchez was previously convicted of several criminal charges, including theft and robbery.

Sean Emery is a crime and public safety reporter for the Register who covers state and federal courts and criminal justice issues. He has worked for the Register since 2006, previously covering breaking news, the city of Irvine, the Orange County Great Park, and the city of San Juan Capistrano.